Biden on '60 Minutes': 'The pandemic is over'
Source: Politico
“The pandemic is over,” the president told Scott Pelley as they talked last week at the Detroit Auto Show. “We still have a problem with Covid. We’re still doing a lot of work on it ... but the pandemic is over. if you notice, no one’s wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it’s changing.”
Despite Biden’s statement, Covid has continued to exact a toll in the United States and around the world. The John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center lists more than 2 million Covid cases in the country in the last 28 days, with hundreds dying from the disease every day.
Biden’s insistence on Sunday night that the pandemic is over caught several of his own health officials by surprise. The declaration was not part of his planned remarks ahead of the “60 Minutes” interview, two administration officials familiar with the matter told POLITICO.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/18/joe-biden-pandemic-60-minutes-00057423?wdqwd
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Joinfortmill
(21,169 posts)
yaesu
(9,328 posts)I hope this is the case but not going to bet my life on it. Long covid is still a very serious matter even if you don't die. I will be masking up until hell freezes over or I die whatever comes first.
Warpy
(114,615 posts)meaning the bastard will always be with us, some of us will get sick with it, and some of the very old and some of the unprotected will continue to die from it every year.
You know, just like every other respiratory disease out there.
that is what he is trying to say. It will be with us forever. Maybe poorly stated.
Warpy
(114,615 posts)I can deal with that after 4 years of TFG, who didn't seem to listen to anyone but quacks who were as ignorant as he is.
Dorian Gray
(13,850 posts)though people pointing out that we still have 3-5 times more people dying than a typical flu year have a point. (I would love to see how many of them are vaccinated vs unvaccinated.)
Get vaccinated. Wear a mask in crowded places. Protect yourself when there are surges. Get home tests.
But, we have evolved to deal with this and it's endemicity, so we don't need to live in abject fear anymore.
MissMillie
(39,652 posts)I was working at the Harvard Business School during their commencement ceremonies in 2009, and someone was making a speech about the recession. I pointed out to one of my bosses (an economics professor) that--technically speaking--we weren't in a recession anymore. Despite the obvious real-life experiences of people across the country, I was correct, and my boss agreed. And then we ended up talking about how, despite the economic indicators being what they were, people may not be rushing to change their spending behavior(s).
My personal behavior (regarding COVID) is going to remain as it has been during "pandemic" mode, but I have personal reasons for that.
Yeah, there's always some nitwit that has to comment about my mask-wearing when I'm out in public. I tell them to mind their own business.
Warpy
(114,615 posts)2 days of feeling ill plus another 7 to cough up the glop. It's nothing like the original was in March 2020 before they knew what they were dealing with. that one flattened me for a couple of weeks and killed my senses of taste and smell for a couple of months.
The pandemic phase existed because it was a new virus no one had immunity to, and it spread quickly all over the planet. The same had been true of the 1918 influenza, the H1N1 strain hadn't been seen for over 30 years and few had even partial immunity to it.
Now the bulk of the population have either survived the disease or have been vaccinated for it, so it will keep circulating but it won't be the killer it was when it first appeared. It has become endemic, just one more pain in the ass we have to deal with.
womanofthehills
(10,988 posts)Now we have new variants BA 2.75 and BA 2.75.2 currently in India and Europe. I think BA 2.75 is already here. These two strains have so many mutations they can escape natural immunity and vaccines.
I’m not vaxxed because of a history of anaphylactic shock, bit I avoided Covid till a few weeks ago. I was sick for 2 days but then crazy fatigue set in for a week. Fatigue so bad - I started worrying I had long Covid. I’m over the insane fatigue, but my energy is definitely lower.
myohmy2
(3,721 posts)...me too...
...I'm just about the only one around me wearing a mask these days...and I like it that way 
...before the pandemic I used to watch Asians wearing masks when they were out and about...always thought that was a good idea but never had the 'courage' to wear one...
...COVID changed all that and made wearing a mask fashionable...
...I wear one not only because I don't want COVID but also because I don't want to catch any other crap that's out there...
...not that going to leave for ever, but for 20 minutes of mask-wearing if I can avoid 2 weeks of misery, why not?
...
Grasswire2
(13,849 posts)Ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh.
We were outside. I was masked except for drinking coffee.
She is fully vaccinated and boosted. My booster appointment is this week, so I'm not fully covered now.
Ugh ugh ugh.
How is it over?
My adult daughter is recovering 3 weeks after catching it, fully vaxxed and boosted.
My adult sons have both had it despite the same prophylaxis.
yaesu
(9,328 posts)employee in the store came down with it after that. Long covid is still a very serious matter even if you don't die.
Grasswire2
(13,849 posts)brooklynite
(96,882 posts)People get the flu. We don't consider it a pandemic.
Phoenix61
(18,829 posts)
LisaL
(47,423 posts)Seems kind of high to declare that pandemic is over.
JustABozoOnThisBus
(24,681 posts)My condolences to the survivors of vaccinated covid victims, and those who are medically unable to take the vaccine.
For the unvaccinated, odds of are still pretty good. Just not AS good.
It's been one week since my fifth shot, a covid omicron vaccine. I'm feeling hopeful that we can go to a restaurant soonish.
nitpicker
(7,153 posts)Although deaths have slackened off slightly, it's still above 400.
The latest statistics :12705 deaths over the last 28 days, average 453 a day.
Sep 2: 1047099
Sep 16: 1052939
Death difference: 5840
Average: 417 daily.
Precisely.
TiberiusB
(526 posts)Last edited Mon Sep 19, 2022, 05:41 PM - Edit history (3)
People with the flu don't risk
brain damage
https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamhaseltine/2022/03/14/covid-19-long-term-brain-injury/?sh=39c855fe454c
Heart damage
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2022/covid-and-the-heart-it-spares-no-one
Lung damage
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-60154398
Bone damage
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3178395/coronavirus-infection-can-lead-severe-bone-loss
When the pandemic started, everyone with an ounce of common sense had to fight the right wing push to label it "just the flu". Now, with Biden in office and democrats eager to avoid getting Covid hung around their necks in the next election, everyone seems to want to declare Covid to be "just like the flu."
Covid is still a big problem, and vaccination doesn't fully protect you from the long term risks, either. It may not be a "pandemic", but it seems we have simply become accustomed to a certain degree of death and suffering, particularly among the poorer nations who don't have the same access to current vaccines. There are more people hospitalized and dying today than in June of 2021. Is the current rate stable, or will there be another massive spike this Fall/Winter? It's not like we haven't seen major surges before. All it takes is the right variant and the continued obstinance of millions dedicated to tearing down science in service to ideology to bring it all down again.
I get the politics of putting the pandemic behind us, but that's not a sound basis for letting our guard down.
Beartracks
(14,593 posts)
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DownriverDem
(7,014 posts)is gone. That's how it seems.
Orrex
(67,111 posts)Instead, there was a push nationwide to "reopen the economy" and to "get people back to work."
From day one, the only priority has been to protect financial interests.
onetexan
(13,913 posts)People are no longer afraid to go out after vaccination, with the knowledge that if they get covid they are protected from hospitalization and dying. The only exceptions of course being in the rare case vaccinated people have serious preexisting conditions that can complicate the situation.
I still mask up when i'm in public but i'm no longer too concerned about it should i contract covid.
Life is too short & there's alot of it to live & enjoy. Can't stay couped up or live our lives in fear.
womanofthehills
(10,988 posts)Thousands are posting on social media about having long Covid and the more times you get infected, the greater your chances are. A New York Times best selling author in NM tested positive for covid 4 times.
After a yr of being sick, she said she is finally able to hike again.
thesquanderer
(13,006 posts)Orrex
(67,111 posts)Certainly there was no sort of enforcement going on.
I recall stopping by a mini-mart during the "mask mandate." At the time of my visit, the store had three employees, two customers (in addition to me), and two cops on site. I was the only one wearing a mask, and they all--including the cops--looked at me like I was a freak.
LibinMo
(567 posts)A woman in a black mask walked across the field of view. I wonder why they didn't cut that. Or, comment on it.
Marthe48
(23,175 posts)unfortunately, that's not how it works. Wishing or saying won't make Covid go away. Many people aren't wearing masks because they are selfish and inconsiderate, have been since Covid hit. That's another thing that won't change.
One of my relatives got it, his 2nd time. He is vaccinated and boosted.
I'm getting my 3rd booster this week. I had relaxed my routine a little, but not much, and I'll get back to being much more careful.
Grasswire2
(13,849 posts)Just can't expose myself. It will kill me if I get it.
I was exposed this week by my cousin, dammit.
Marthe48
(23,175 posts)I saw your comment above. I hope you can keep dodging the virus. I know several people who got vaccinated and boosted, who got Covid, a mild case, and recovered. But we still don't know what strain we'd catch or how sick it would make us, so we have to keep being as careful as we can be.
Will they do a video chat for you? I hope 
Dorian Gray
(13,850 posts)go to your grandson's first birthday party, why didn't you go with a mask?
If you're vaccinated, boosted and wear a mask, you're still protecting yourself. I understand that there is still a risk there, but Isn't the tradeoff worth it to be a part of your grandchild's birthday party? Especially when you can take measures to further protect yourself.
Grasswire2
(13,849 posts)If I catch it, it will kill me.
On Tuesday, I was unwittingly exposed to Covid by a cousin who developed symptoms Thursday. She was fully vaccinated and boosted, yet she has full-blown Covid. She was not masked when we had lunch outside. I was, most of the time, knowing that she was vaccinated and boosted and I could take down my mask to sip coffee.
Please keep in mind that 400 people a day are dying of Covid.
Dorian Gray
(13,850 posts)We've all lost a lot of things in the last few years. I've determined that there is a level of risk I'm willing to take to have those things again in my life. You're at a different risk calculation than I am.
My MIL who has severe health issues has chosen that it's worth the risk to come to family events. We are willing to test before seeing herr, and she'll wear her mask for things like ballet recitals, school plays, parties, etc.
She has navigated these things successfully and has managed not to get covid. Of course, she's willing to work with us, and we trade information. If we've been exposed, we won't put her at risk. I think that's an important part of navigating these times. Being upfront and communicative. If you don't have that with your group, then it becomes much more difficult.
Boost boost boost. All the evidence shows that with each boost, outcomes for older and vulnerable people are MUCH better.
onetexan
(13,913 posts)It protects people from having to be hospitalized or dying.
womanofthehills
(10,988 posts)Many with long Covid are bed ridden.
Mr.Bill
(24,906 posts)We are both fully vaxxed, but not the current booster yet. It was not yet available here. We both caught it from the same source, same day. All it took was being in the same room with a child who had it. For me it was a mild sore throat and the only medication I needed for a few days was throat lozenges. No fever or aches of any kind.
My wife has asthma and is 72 years old. For her Covid was a different experience. She developed pneumonia and spent three days in the hospital on IV anti-biotics. She came home on oxygen and slowly got better She feels back to normal now and has been monitoring her 02Sat. Numbers look pretty normal and tomorrow her doctor will let us know if she can stop using the oxygen overnight as she is doing now.
The pandemic is not over for us, and I don't know if it ever will be. We still wear masks in public places indoors or crowds outdoors. If not for modern medical science I'm convinced my wife would be dead right now.
Marthe48
(23,175 posts)Good luck to both of you
Mr.Bill
(24,906 posts)I'm just glad we got vaccinated, and we were so careful before there was no vaccine. I'm convinced that's what made it not so bad for me, even though I'm 69.
Marthe48
(23,175 posts)and have to be careful. I have asthma, too. I'll keep avoiding going out, masking if I do, masking around the grands again, and sanitizing as soon as I get home.
Hope your wife gets good news from the dr. It'll be a big relief
progree
(12,977 posts)Last edited Sun Sep 18, 2022, 11:10 PM - Edit history (2)
than long flu. People just don't talk about long flu, but we all know several dozen people who have it, I guess.
An estimated 2 million people out of the work force because of long something-or-other, I forget what it is.
We all know people who have died. Death is endemic. Hey, no problem.
At least its not mutating anymore, I guess. No more waves. Nothing to worry about in the fall. Its all good.
I shudder at wearing a mask to stores etc. -- "Hey lib boy, your president says it's over, that nobody is wearing a mask. If you're that scared, you should be back in your mama's basement, lib boy"
If a serious wave comes, this certainly undercuts any state or local official even recommending anything.
Bye-bye federal funding for COVID vaccines, tests and treatments. (I stole this from Pinback downthread)
Meanwhile it is rising in Europe again, up 19% in the past week. And on a global average basis the decline has stopped...
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/world/covid-cases.html
And yes I'm vaxxed and double-boosted.
Cassidy
(223 posts)Mutation is as inevitable as the sun rising in the morning. Since Covid-19 continues to circulate world-wide, there will be more waves.
Here is some CDC Covid vs. flu information:
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/symptoms/flu-vs-covid19.htm
An estimated 1 in 13 Americans has long Covid.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2022/20220622.htm
I don't know where you get your information on "long flu." According to one study, "The research found that over 1 in 3 patients had one or more features of long-COVID recorded between 3 and 6 months after a diagnosis of COVID-19. This was significantly higher than after influenza."
https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1003773
Flu kills 300,000 to 650,000 people world-wide annually. Covid has killed 6,500,000 people world-wide in 2 yrs and 9 months (roughly 2,400,000 annually).
https://www.familiesfightingflu.org/flu-deaths-vs-covid-19-deaths/
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-death-toll/
I interact with the public for part of my job. I continue to wear a KN95 all day. Customers who wear masks seek me out. When someone gives me crap about my mask, which had gotten less frequent, I respond with facts. They got nothin', so they back down fairly quickly.
progree
(12,977 posts)As to your subject line question, roughly speaking the first half of my #17 was sarcastic. The 2nd half was all serious.
I'm fearful of the day when dentists / my hygienist / doctors stops wearing masks. My next dental appointment is in 2 1/2 weeks.
Edited to add: Along with yours, #43 above is another not-to-be-missed post.
Dysfunctional
(452 posts)but I have never seen anyone put someone down for wearing one.
melm00se
(5,161 posts)If the pandemic is not over, it forces Republicans (and Trump) to say "No it isn't" which points out their fallacious statements regarding COVID.
If the pandemic is over, he and Democratic leadership can claim victory over the pandemic.
Orrex
(67,111 posts)
Lancero
(3,276 posts)You're forgetting the third, more likely option. That Covid, yet again, surges. And kills thousands. All for the sake of, by your own admission, political expediency.
former9thward
(33,424 posts)Blues Heron
(8,838 posts)We’re not even close to that though so it’s silly to try and claim it’s over when so many are getting sick. Luckily we have the shots and the meds so it’s not as dire as it once was.
BigmanPigman
(55,153 posts)I am definitely staying masked and boosted and keeping 6' from people standing in line at stores.
Man, am I glad I am not teaching 1st graders anymore. I was sick 90% of the school year, even with annual flu shots. Kids and classrooms are germ factories. I got mononucleosis when I was 44 and didn't miss a day of teaching so I had it for 6 months and my eyes were turning yellow. I was not diagnosed correctly since no one gets this at that age. I also got permanent lung damage from teaching in a building full of mold that ended up being destroyed due to it. I was also hospitalized with a form of pneumonia that resulted in losing half of my blood and I had to get emergency transfusions. My school wouldn't let me take any more time off for my "cold". I called in lesson plans from the hospital so the principal wouldn't continue to harass me for being ill. This is what teachers' lives are like. And this was BEFORE Covid!!!!!!!! Now they almost want to physically work you to death. They'll hire new teachers for less pay, work them to death then repeat.......
I read that you should get the next booster before Halloween to be fully boosted for those holidays and the Winter season.
When this thing started many on DU agreed that it would be with us for at least 3 years...good prediction.
Biden may say it is over but ask a teacher what they think!
Pinback
(13,600 posts)I'll be interested to see whether Ashish Jha endorses this off-the-cuff statement or tip-toes around it.
BigmanPigman
(55,153 posts)"Joe Biden’s Covid-19 tsar warns millions risk losing access to treatment".
"Ashish Jha says vaccines and drugs will be limited if Congress fails to approve further funding"
"Now Biden has gone back to Congress with a request for $22.4bn in pandemic funding as part of the so-called continuous resolution, which members must pass by the end of this month or face a government shutdown."
"Part of that request is designed to conduct research into the next generation of vaccines. Jha warned that if it is not approved, the US faces losing out to China and India in the race for nasal and oral vaccines."
https://www.ft.com/content/43852557-ac11-4e88-a7b6-f83b01956e54
I certainly hope our majority approves it!!!
MichMan
(17,151 posts)Maybe they should claw some of it back.
GB_RN
(3,560 posts)There's no question of that. The real questions are how will it mutate over time? Less deadly? More infectious?
And let's not forget how will WE react? Will people get complacent and not get vaccinated and boosted? That's a sure fire way for COVID to make a comeback...
llmart
(17,622 posts)Not everyone gets flu vaccines. A certain percentage of our population will always get the flu. A certain percentage will die from the flu.
We have never gotten to "zero" with not a single person getting the flu, so that's never going to happen with Covid either.
We have much more in our arsenal now to combat Covid than we did in the beginning and more knowledge about who needs to be more cautious. I'll get the new booster, but I've never had a flu shot in my 73 years. I've had the flu only once in my adult life and that was years ago.
womanofthehills
(10,988 posts)The only times I ever got the flu - I was babysitting my grandkids who were sick.
Lonestarblue
(13,480 posts)But more than 450 people are still dying every single day from Covid—which equates to around 164,000 people per year. That’s still a huge number. I will continue to wear a mask in crowded places and get booster shots.
Rhiannon12866
(255,539 posts)
Response to Rhiannon12866 (Reply #28)
progree This message was self-deleted by its author.
ZonkerHarris
(25,577 posts)Orrex
(67,111 posts)People couldn't behave like grown-ups during the full strength of the pandemic. Good luck trying to get those selfish fucks to act responsibly now that the "pandemic is over."
TygrBright
(21,362 posts)Estimates are that one in four cases are actually reported.
Right now our county has a 'reported' rate averaging 23 new cases/day. Which means it's closer to 100 cases a day.
In a county with a population of 150,000 or so.
Our state averages between 5-10 deaths a week over the past 10 weeks, recently one death was right in our part of town.
And still the assholes won't get vaccinated, and still the assholes won't wear masks.
No, the pandemic isn't over, here.
disgustedly,
Bright
MichMan
(17,151 posts)The continuing pandemic was the rationale used to enact the Emergency Powers act used as legal justification for the EO on student loan forgiveness.
Shrek
(4,428 posts)Right-wing Twitter is already screeching about it.
Justice matters.
(9,787 posts)They intentionally 'forgot' this prelude:
"We still have a problem with Covid. We’re still doing a lot of work on it ... "
We know why... 
Get your booster shots in time folks!
OldkySoul
(38 posts)people.... she has lost 2 first cousins to covid last month and she just got a call last night that her double first cousin in Ohio has been on a vent and has been in a coma for 6 days from covid with no brain activity they say. He's only 50.
maxsolomon
(38,729 posts)Or whether they had co-morbidities?
so awful.
AZLD4Candidate
(6,780 posts)But there are treatments and vaccines.
Gradually turning of the panic meter is a good thing.
Remember, on Friday, I'm moving back to Zero-Covid policy and look how wonderful that has been there.
Wear masks if you feel nervous, but COVID is now treatable. Being a virus, it will never go away.
Blues Heron
(8,838 posts)Its taking on a slight discomfort in order to help stop the spread in your community. More than just an individual nervous thing. It can help keep the numbers down for everybody.
AZLD4Candidate
(6,780 posts)Rhinoviruses (cause common cold symptoms, but are not the only viruses that cause colds)
Influenza viruses (type A, type B, H1N1)
Varicella viruses (cause chickenpox)
Measles virus
Mumps virus
Hantavirus (a rare virus that can be transmitted from rodents to humans)
Viral meningitis
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
Masks do that for every one of them. And I didn't say not wear. But maybe people should just wear them all day, everyday until the end of time.
twodogsbarking
(18,785 posts)I think I will start again.
womanofthehills
(10,988 posts)The store was virtually empty but the checker who I know recently recovered from covid coughed in my face and I got Covid. I was in there less than 5 minutes. First time in a store without my mask.
I just ordered some super masks from 3M.
IronLionZion
(51,269 posts)which could be seasonal. The updated booster shots are out now so people should have good immunity before winter.
I still wear a mask for transit, indoor concerts, or anything with lots of people close together. Hospitals and doctors offices still want everyone to wear masks to protect vulnerable people.
womanofthehills
(10,988 posts)- have so many new mutations they are natural infection and vaccine evasive. They are BA 2.75 and BA 2.275.2.
nitpicker
(7,153 posts)Thus the refrigerator trucks and so on, lots of public attention. Now that the deaths are presumably distributed more widely, COVID has dropped off some people's radar.
Admittedly, some of the deaths are those that died with COVID, not from COVID directly.
BUT COVID is still involved in over 400 known deaths a day.
Kyesha
(30 posts)Keep wearing your mask in the hospitals at least, folks. You don't want those nurses to take a sick day! It's a pain finding someone to fill in, trust me.
Bayard
(29,693 posts)Especially since he and Jill both had it last month, with relapses. He was walking around that plant, maskless.
sybylla
(8,655 posts)It's not over. I hate this slip-shod crap. People will keep dying with this attitude. No one at the top seems to care.
maxsolomon
(38,729 posts)vaccines and boosters are available. anti-virals are available. if people don't avail themselves of them, the death rate won't drop.
how many deaths per week is NOT a pandemic? 500? 50? 0?
"No one at the top seems to care" is hyperbole.
sybylla
(8,655 posts)But you don't really want an answer, or you'd all ready know it.
Let's try a link which requires very little effort on your part - an MSNBC interview that includes Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding talking about how wrong this is, how stating this minimizes the constant, ongoing deaths and completely ignores several more steps the administration could be taking. Not to mention how ableist, shortsighted and stupid this attitude is if you care about humanity.
maxsolomon
(38,729 posts)I understand the argument. I hear it at home from Mrs. Solomon.
You don't want to give me a metric, fine. I'll tell you this, though: zero deaths/week is not happening. Perfection does not exist.
Jose Garcia
(3,506 posts)Unless the virus mutates to the point that currently available vaccines cannot greatly reduce hospitalizations and death, COVID is now endemic, like a more serious version of the flu.
maxsolomon
(38,729 posts)It's never going away; you have to protect yourself by staying current on vaccinations, and availing yourself of anti-virals when you do contract it.
It doesn't have to be a death sentence.
beaglelover
(4,466 posts)Percentage wise the number of people who died from COVID is very very small.
maxsolomon
(38,729 posts)I lost my elderly Uncle Dale the month before the Vaccines were released.
Response to brooklynite (Original post)
traitorsgalore This message was self-deleted by its author.
Zeitghost
(4,557 posts)Living with COVID is our only option. Eliminating it was an impossibility well before it arrived on our shores and before anyone had even herd the term COVID19. As with the other highly contagious airborne respiratory diseases that mutate quickly that we live with, it was bound to become endemic.
Even if we had implemented far more severe restrictions and controls that proved successful at containing COVID within the US, it would mean isolating from the world for the rest of eternity which is just impossible. Also consider it's now endemic in animal populations that give COVID a place to continue to spread. Zero COVID is simply not an option and never was.
So yes, we will all continue to get COVID, over and over. Just like we catch flu's and colds over and over. And our immune systems will get better at handling it and our Doctors will get better at treating it and yes, some people will die. Everyone will need to assess their own personal risk factors and take steps to mitigate COVID that they feel are most appropriate for them.